Loki's Guide
by Story.Lightning
Summary: Sequel to 'Loki's Guard' Second installment of the Loki G- Series. As usual, story is better than description. All reviews are welcome.
1. ANNOUNCEMENT IMPORTANT

EDITING IS FINISHED!

_The editing is finished, I hope you enjoy the story. Again, no major changes, but there are some noticeable changes. Okay? ENJOY!_


	2. Chapter 1

_Sudden brightness. Eyes burning. The light hurts…  
"Nyuh…uh. Oww, my head…"  
"Ah, you are awake now? Good, I'm glad. Now then, shall we start our training?"  
"Where am I?"  
"You are with me. That should satisfy your question."  
My eyes open. That voice…  
"Loki, let me go." I try to move, but I'm tied to a chair. "Let me go!"  
"In due time, my dear. In due time…"  
__  
_I shot up from my bed, cold sweat running down my face, heart rate exploding. _No,_ I thought. _Not again._ _He is not coming back._ I inhaled sharply, then held my breath. This was the fifth time I had dreamt of Loki this week. It's been about 8 months now since I had last seen him, or dreamt of him, for that matter. I squinted_. Loki._ _That deceiving little…_ I sighed. _Why now?_ I rubbed my right eye and looked in the mirror ahead of me.  
One brown eye, and the other streaked with blue. The spell was almost gone. I was almost free.

I got dressed and headed for the bus. Since I couldn't go back to sleep, I might as well make my way to work. Sure, I was going to be 30 minutes early to the diner, but I guess I could ask Frieda to make me breakfast or something. I got on the bus and sat at the back. Hardly anyone was there. _Wow,_ I thought. _So this is what the bus is like at 4:00 in the morning. Kind of eerie._ About 20 minutes later, a man in a tan trench coat got on. His face looked familiar, but I couldn't think of who it might have been. 5 minutes after that, I got off. I turned around to thank the bus driver. As the bus pulled away, the trench coat seemed to be staring at me, and eyed me as the bus drove on. I shivered. Something didn't seem right.

"Well," Frieda said as I walked in. "Someone's up earlier than usual. Hel-lo, sleeping beauty."  
I laughed. "I know, I know, sorry I'm up so early to interrupt your intimate time with the dishes and tables."  
Frieda snorted. "At least I have someone who lives with me."  
"Your mom doesn't count, Free."  
"Oh, shut up. No, I have a man. You know, those other human beings that hug you at night and tell you they love you? You need one of those! Instead of living in that cramped apartment with no one but yourself."  
"I used to have someone like that…" I sighed, and the memories came flooding back. _Steve. The one who found me. Who stayed with me when I needed him. Who didn't give up on me, even when I didn't remember who he was. The person who loved me…_  
"Hey, kid. You okay? I didn't mean to burst any bubbles or anything."  
The word 'kid' snapped me out of it. "Huh? Oh no, I'm fine. Just thinking…"  
Frieda leaned on the counter. "Yeah, you've been thinking all this week about somethin'. You spaced out on Tuesday and almost spilt orange juice on a customer. And yesterday, you ran into a guy that was right in front of you! What is that?"  
I shrugged.  
"Well, whatever it is, it's makin' you depressed, and I don't like it. What is it? What's wrong?"

I put on a smile. "Nothing's wrong, Free. Can you make me something while I get into uniform?"  
"Hey! I'm not you're cook! You better pay me for this!"  
"Yeah, yeah, yeah." I made my way to the bathroom. Yeah, working as a waiter might not be good pay, but at least it's a way to get money. I got out of the stall in uniform and looked in the mirror. I rubbed the mirror and looked harder. I rubbed the mirror again to make sure.

"Aw, come _ON_!"

Frieda popped her head in the bathroom. "You okay in there?"  
"Yeah," I grumbled. "Hey, Free, this is going to sound strange, but do I look any different to you?"  
Frieda tilted her head. "What do you mean?"  
"Just look at my face. Does it look any different?"  
"The light's too dim in here, come closer."  
I walked forward. Frieda examined my face. "Well, now that you mention it, your eye seems a bit… different."  
I gulped. "Oh, yeah?"  
"Yeah. The right one. It looks more…blue that it was before."  
My body froze with horror. "Okay, thanks."  
She exited. I sat on the floor and leaned my head back on the wall_. Alright, so the blue streak in your eye's getting wider instead of smaller. That's okay, it doesn't mean anything…he promised._  
But then again, he is the god of lies…  
"Amara!"  
I jumped. "Yeah?"  
"Come on! The diner's opening! We've got customers!"  
"Coming!" I picked myself off the floor.  
"Hey, you good?"  
I brushed the dust of my uniform dress. "Never better." I sighed. "No breakfast, huh?"  
She laughed. "I'll make you something later. Now come on! People are waiting to order!" With that, she disappeared into the kitchen.  
I took a deep breath. _This will pass. Don't let it affect your work day. You can do this._  
My right eye started to burn.  
_Yes, this will pass…_


	3. Chapter 2

I went through my day, and nothing happened. I had control over my physical movements, my mental thoughts, and no sign of Loki. Thank god; no pun intended. By the end of the day, though, I had zoned out 3 times, tripped over 5 chairs, and almost dropped a stack of plates on my feet. Frieda was excessively worrying now.  
"Amara, are you sure you're okay?" Frieda said as I was locking the diner.  
I twisted the key and dropped it in my pocket. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just tired. I woke up early, remember?" I laughed. "And I still didn't get my breakfast this morning! You owe me!"  
"Yeah, yeah." We walked to the bus stop. "Oh! Did I tell you we got a new roommate?"  
"Oh really?" Frieda usually gets a new roommate every 3 weeks or so. She can never keep anyone at her apartment for longer than a month. It's probably because she still lives with her mom, and let's just say that her mom'll let people know what's on her mind, rated R for language, and sexual content.  
"Yeah! And he's single. Maybe you two should-."  
"Uh-uh. No."  
"Oh come on, Amara. I hate to see you always alone. You need a man!"  
"I already have one!"  
Frieda gave me a surprised look.  
"Well…I think I still have one." I sighed.  
"Is that what's been bothering you all week?" Frieda asked.  
I didn't reply. "Hey, here's the bus. I gotta go."  
"I'll call you later, okay? We can talk about it."  
"Thanks, Free. But I think I'm going straight to bed when I get home." I gave her a hug. "I'll see you tomorrow."  
"Tomorrow's your day off!"  
"Well then I'll see you next week!" I hopped on the bus and waved goodbye from the window.

_Kneel._  
_I resisted. No._  
_A step forward. __Kneel.__  
I squinted. No.  
__You're making this too hard for yourself. Kneel, or I'll force you to.__  
Never.  
A face of rage. "KNEEL BEFORE YOUR KING!"  
My body reacted, my left knee slamming on the ground. I seethed.  
I heard the smile in his voice. "There. Much better." He bent down and whispered in my ear. "It would be so much easier if you just did what I asked willingly. Then we would not be having these problems." His hand softly grazed my face. Then he stood and walked away. "Stay in that position until I return. Don't move."  
He didn't come back for 3 hours.  
_****  
I closed the door to my apartment and flopped on my bed as the memory became clearer. _Go away…_

Amara.  
I blinked. _Did I just…?_  
_Amara. _  
I sat up. _Loki?_  
_Help me, Amara. Help me my eternal…_  
I stood up. _Where are you?_  
_Help me…_  
I looked around. _Loki? Loki!_  
No reply. I got up from my bed and looked around the small apartment. Nothing. I opened the window and looked outside. It was dark, and the streetlights were the only illumination of the world. No cars or people were out. I sat my head on my hands_. Am I going crazy? Hearing his voice randomly? Was that really him?_ I covered my face with my hands. _Or has he come to take me again? I knew he was lying! But he promised me. He promised to leave me alone…._  
Knock, knock, knock.  
I froze. "Who is it?" I asked carefully.  
"It's your only friend. Let me in!"  
I unlocked the door and Frieda busted through it. "Geez, I decided to visit and it takes you forever to unlock the door! What's that all about?"  
"Well, it's not like I heard you! I was in my room. You know, about to_ sleep_!"  
"Oh, cool so it's a sleep over. I brought extra clothes just in case."  
Frieda can be a little obnoxious.  
"You're going to leave your roommate alone with your mom all night?"  
"No! He works at night. You really think I'ma let that cougar alone with all that handsomeness? You must be crazy." She sat down on the couch and turned on the T.V.  
I leaned on the wall. "Do you know where he works?"  
"Can't say that I do. I never ask." Frieda gave me a sneaky look. "Ah, so you are interested in him, huh?"  
"No! I'm just making small talk about him."  
"Hah! There's nothing small about him." She winked. "Nothing small at _all_."  
"What do you mean…?" My eyes widened. "You didn't."  
"What? No! You little pervert! Of course I didn't! Rule #1: No sleeping with roommates."  
"Then how do you know about his… uh, non-smallness?"  
"Eh, I accidentally walked in on him when he was in the loo."  
I raised an eyebrow. "Accidentally?"  
She tried playing innocent. "Purposefully accidentally?"  
"And you say _I'm_ the pervert." I sighed. "Well, on another note, I don't have any food. So you're just gonna starve tonight."  
"Already thought of that." She ruffled through her bag and pulled out what looked like a month supply of chips and sweets.  
"Let's get this party started!" She whooped.  
So, we ate all the snacks, watched re-runs of old TV shows, and dozed off as soon as the early morning sitcoms came on.  
_Amara, Amara…._  
"AMARA!"  
I jolted awake, cold sweat running down my back. I was uncontrollably shivering, and Frieda was shaking me by the shoulders.  
"What?! What happened?!"  
"You were screaming bloody murder in your sleep! What the hell kind of nightmares are you having?"  
I couldn't answer. I was still shaking, and my brain wasn't working. What the hell happened?  
"I…I…"  
"You, you, you what?"  
"I…don't….remember…"  
"How could you not remember? It sounds like someone was stabbing you to death! You have to remember!"  
"Frieda…"  
"Yeah?"  
"Stop shaking me. I'm awake."  
"Oh!" Her hands fell to her sides. "Sorry."  
I sat up. Frieda took my hand.  
"Mari, are you okay? First it's the zoning out, and now nightmares. Did something happen?"  
I stared at her hand. Then covered hers with mine. "I'm okay. Really. It was probably all that sugar before sleeping. You're a bad influence."  
Frieda smiled. "The worst." Frieda looked at the time. "Well, I better be getting home. Mom's probably traumatizing the handsomeness, the poor creature."  
I pulled on a sock. "I'll walk you to the bus."


	4. Chapter 3

After Frieda got on the bus, I had nothing else to do, and nobody else to bother. So, I grabbed my bike and rode it down to the nearest park. The things boredom can do to you. Like make you exercise. As I was riding, I saw a little kid trip over a rock. A woman, his mother maybe, ran over and picked the kid up.

"Jasper! Are you alright?"

It reminded me of something…

"_Hey, wake up. Are you alright?"  
Light. I slowly opened my eyes. A man pulled of his jacket and wrapped it around me. "You look cold. Do you realize that you're naked?"  
Who was this man? He pressed a button on the wall. "Fury, get a medical team down here. There's a girl!"  
"A what?!"  
"Get someone down here!" He hugged me. "It's going to be alright. You'll be okay, I promise."  
His body felt warm…_

"_LOOK OUT!"_  
"Huh?"  
**CRASH! Roll, roll, roll, roll, THUD!**  
"Oww…" I rubbed my head.  
"I am so sorry, it was all my fault. Are you alright?"  
_Judging by the voice, it's a man._ "I've been through worse. I wasn't paying attention, so it's mostly my fault."  
"I wasn't either. So I guess it's both of our faults."  
"At least I don't take all the glory for the fall."  
We chuckled. He sat up and extended his hand. "Laurence."  
I sat up and extended my hand while rubbing my right eye. It was burning like crazy.  
"Nice to meet you Laurence," I said. I looked up and froze. _Oh… my… god. _  
"Is there a problem?" Laurence asked.  
All I could do was stare at his face with horror. I couldn't even think. This man looked exactly like Loki. No, he _was_ Loki. _What was he doing here?_

"Did you get hurt?"  
"No. But yes, there is a problem. A _big_ problem."  
****

"What? What's the problem?" I had pulled Laurence (or Loki, or… whatever) to a secluded nearby tree, to make sure nobody heard us.

"You said that you'd leave me alone. What are you doing here?"

"Wha-."

"Don't play stupid with me! I heard you last night! You planned this!" I had a sudden blast of courage. It seems that I was talking to a powerful god with much disrespect. Not sure if I had a death wish, or he was just pissing me off at his very existence.

Yeah, the second one.

'Laurence' backed up a little. "Maybe we need to get you to a hospital."

"Please don't play dumb. After what you did-"

"Wait, you've seen me before?"

I was nearly about to slap him. "Yes! I've seen you many times before!"

"So you can tell me who I am?"

I paused. "What?"

He looked at me with a face full of confusion. "You can tell me who I am, right?"

"_You don't remember?!"_

"No! I don't. I don't even know who you are!"

_Oh god._ "Let me get this straight. You have no idea who you are?"

"Yes."

"You have no memories, all wiped out."

"Yes!"

"And you have no idea who I am?!"

"Yes!" He grabbed me by my shoulders. "That's exactly right!"

I froze.

"Hey! What's wrong?"

"Please, let go of me." I tried sounding strong, but my voice was as audible as a whisper.

Laurence let go. "Sorry."

I blinked a couple times. "I kind of believe you. But first, I have to test something." I stood on my knees. "Sit down." He did. I inhaled, then placed both of my hands on the sides of his head.

"What are you doing?" He asked.

"Probably the only think you taught me that seemed valuable." I closed my eyes and began searching his mind.

"I feel light headed."

"Shut it for a second."

I searched his thoughts. I saw a light, and then his memories came. There was only empty space, as if his mind had been dumped out and cleaned, then put back in his head. I let go of his mind.

"Alright, you're telling the truth."

He looked at me with half opened, dreary looking eyes. "Whuh...what…did… you…?"

"I just searched your mind to see if you were telling the truth. And your memories have been wiped clean."

He slowly blinked. "That…was…amazing."

I stared long and hard at this guy. He looked…well, high.

I got up. "Well, we need to keep in touch. Just in case anything happens. "

He shook his head. "I'm just renting an apartment."

"Where's the apartment?"

He pointed it in the direction. I froze. "How many people live in this apartment?"

"Two other people."

"Is one a short brunette with curly hair and the other one old with white hair, most likely slaps your butt every time you pass her?"

He looked up, startled. "Did you get that from my thoughts?"

"No, I just know where you live," I said. "Come on."  
****

I knocked on the door.

"So, how do you know where I live?"

I didn't respond. "Frieda! Open up!"

The door swung open. "Hey Mari! Oh, and I see you already met the handsomeness."

Laurence blushed. "Frieda, can we come in?"

"Well of course!" She let us in and we sat on the couch.

"Where's your mom?"

"Sleeping."

"Cool. Okay we need to talk." _And I have no idea how to start the explaining of things_. I nudged Laurence. "Help me out here."

"Well, what am I suppose to say?"

"I don't know, something!"

Frieda waved her hand in front of our faces. "You do realize that I'm still here, right?"

We sat up. "Uhm…"

"What, uh, she's trying to say is, uh…" Laurence started. "Is that… I'm going to be living with her now."

I gave him a cold stare. _What?!_

"Yes, we, uh, met at the park earlier this week and, uh, now we want to move in with each other. Isn't that right?"

I almost puked. "Yeah, that's totally right. We connected with each other." Connected, attached, it wasn't a _complete_ lie. "That, and my rent is cheaper."

"Well, that makes sense. But what a coincidence! My roommate meets my best friend without me introducing! That's grand!"

"Yeah, just peachy," I mumbled. Silence.

"So… new roommate, I guess we should leave now…"

"Oh, yes. Let me go pack." He left.

"You sly little man stealer!"

"Huh?"

Frieda giggled. "You know what I mean. He's a hunk of junk and you just wanted him to live with you to do dastardly things to him."

"I don't know what's going on in that head of yours, but he's just moving in for the rent. Besides, since he works at night, when he comes home, I'll be leaving. No time for the dastardly-ness you're thinking of."

"Too bad," Frieda said. She leaned on her left hand. "It would have been fun."

"Whatever," I murmured.

"I have my things packed. Are you ready to go?"

I sighed a relief. _Perfect timing_.

"Thank you."

I froze. _Did he just-?_

"See you two later! Mari! Call me and tell me what happens, or if anything goes-" she wiggled her fingers. "Dastardly."

I rolled my eyes. "Bye Frieda."

"I'm sorry I put you in this, uh, situation." Laurence said a few minutes after we left.

I shrugged. We walked on. "Uh, Mari. What did Frieda mean when she said 'if things go dastardly'?"

"Oh, that. She thinks you're moving to my place just so that we can do the horizontal love dance."

"What?"

"Think about it."

"Uhm…."

Laurence thought about what I said even after we got off the bus. And even after I unlocked my apartment door, he was _still_ thinking about it.

"Alright, alright, give it a break. We don't want your head exploding."

Laurence looked around. "It's pretty small…"

"You'll sleep on the couch. Sorry, there's no other room."

_Knock, knock, knock._

"Oh, god. Again?" I went to the door. _"Carl! I paid the bill yesterday! It's on your desk!"_

"Who?"

That voice sounds familiar. "Oh, sorry, I thought it was the landlord. Who is it?"

"Uhm, I may not have the right address, but this apartment belongs to Amara, right?"

"Who wants to know?"

"…Child?"

My body tensed. _That voice… it can't be_. I flung open the door.

"…_..Steve?"_


	5. Chapter 4

We both sunk into each other's arms. I know that sounds physically impossible, but that's what happened. Oh, how I missed him. His body.

"Oh, Child, I missed you."

I laughed and wiped a tear from my eye. _Wow, I'm crying._

We were enveloped in each other's arms for minutes. The whole time, we forgot that there was another person in the area.

"Um…hi?"

Steve bolted up and stared at Laurence with the hatred that belonged to Loki. This. Wasn't good. "You bastard!" He let me go and gave a solid punch to Laurence's face.

"_Steve!"_

"Come on, Child! Before he wakes up!" He grabbed my hand.

"Steve! That's not Loki!"

"What?"

"_Hold on!"_

Steve stopped walking.

"That isn't Loki. I thought the same thing, too. But it's not. It's….I don't know who it is."

"What are you talking about?" He took my head in his massive hands. "You've been brainwashed."

"_No!_ Just listen for a sec!"

"Oww… that hurt more than the bike collision." _Thud._

"What do you mean, 'that's not Loki'?"

I tried to explain. "It's Loki's body, but it's not his thinking. His memory's wiped clean." I looked at Steve. "He doesn't remember anything."

Steve thought about this. "So… he has no memories of anything?"

I nodded. "He didn't even remember me or what he did…" my voice trailed off.

"What did he do to you?"

"How did you find me?" I said, trying to change the subject.

"We scanned your face and checked every camera around the world. It's amazing that we just found a match a few days ago. I saw you on the bus the other day."

I thought. "Were you the guy in the trench coat?"

"Guilty. I was only supposed to observe you that day, no contact allowed. Just in case."

"So are you going to take me home? Home, as in the heli-carrier, that is."

"Yes. Fury thought it was best if I came, because, you know…"

"Yeah, I know." I thought. "What about Laurence?"

"Who?"

I pointed.

"What about him?"

"Well, we can't just leave him here!"

"Why not? How do we know he's not lying? Using his sorcery to trick us?"

"I don't know." I confessed. "But we can't just leave him free."

"Welcome back, Child."

"Thanks, Director."

We were back on the heli-carrier. Steve had carried Laurence on, but it didn't seem like he was too thrilled to do it. Fury decided to put him back in his transparent cell, just in case he planned anything. I was put back in my old room, and I was so glad to be back. I missed everyone. I was in Fury's office, and he was looking a bit bad. If he had hair, it would've been all grey.

"We were all worried about you, after all that happened when you were here last."

_A shot through the roof, ascending into the air…You belong to me…_

"Child!"

"Ahuh?"

"Did you hear what I just said?"

"Uh, truthfully… no."

Fury sighed. "Fill me in on details. What has happened within the past year?"

I tensed up. "Why do you need to know?"

Fury raised an eyebrow. Well, his only eyebrow. "Any information might be essential."

"Essential to…?"

"Why are you being so resistant?"

"Oh, um, you know, I just don't like thinking about it…"

"Well, you're going to have to. We have to be one step ahead of this guy, and your experience might be valuable as to defeating him."

"I doubt anything I have experienced will help you defeat him."

Fury leaned forward. "Try me."

_Why does he always say that?_ "Um… I'd rather not say it out loud. Do you have a paper?"

Fury pulled out a paper and pen and sat it on the desk. I hesitated, then wrote down the basics of what Loki did. When I was done, I placed the pen down. Once Fury excused me, I ran into a room and slammed the door shut. I wiped the tears from my eyes. _Crap, no crying, no crying…_

"Are you alright?"

I jumped and turned around. _Aw, great. Jut the face I need to see right now._ Laurence faced me at the edge of his cell. He placed a hand on the bar.

"Me? Oh yeah, I'm fine, just peachy."

"You're sarcasm is very dry."

I smiled. "That isn't the first time you've told me that."

"It isn't?"

I shook my head. "No. In fact, we were in this very room. You were there and I was somewhere around here." I motioned to the area around me. "Accept you were a little more rude."

"Me? I was rude?"

"The rudest."

He furrowed his eyebrows. "I can't imagine myself rude."

"Well I can. In fact, I've even experienced it."

"Experienced it?"

I waved the comment off. "I don't want to go into detail."

"Well why not?"

_Why is everyone urging me to explain myself? It's annoying! _

"I am sorry. I did not mean to annoy you."

I blinked. "Do you realize what you're doing?"

"Standing?"

"You're reading my thoughts."

Laurence made a face. "No, I'm not. That's impossible."

"Laurence, look at my mouth." _Am I moving my lips right now?_

Laurence's eyes looked as if they were about to pop out of their sockets. "…No."

"Then the only explanation is…?"

"I…am reading your thoughts."

"Give this guy a medal, I think he got it."

"So wait, am I the only one that can read thoughts?"

"You can only read my thoughts, and I can also read yours."

"Incredible! Why aren't you, though? Reading my thoughts, I mean."

"Because you're not thinking anything!"

"Yes I am."

"What is it?"

"Find out."

_Cheeky._ I slipped into his mind, then laughed. "You're _still_ thinking about the horizontal love dance?"

"I still have no idea what it is!"

We both laughed. Laurence's laugh was soft, cheerful. Nothing compared to Loki's evil, menacing cackle. Maybe this isn't Loki. Maybe it's just his look alike…

No, it was Loki. I was sure of that. That was my brown eye next to that blue one. This was him. But one question still puzzles me.

_What __the hell__ happened to him?_


	6. Chapter 5

I was upside down on the edge of my bed, the blood rushing to my head. I was examining a baseball in my hand as Steve opened the door.

"Hey," Steve said.

"Hey." I tossed the ball in the air and landed in my hand. "What's up?"

"Nothing. Just that you seem pretty upset."

I sighed. "Yeah."

Steve smiled. "Move over a little." I slid to the side and Steve sat down on the bed. "What's wrong?"

I tossed the ball up. "Nothing."

He caught the ball mid-air. "Seriously. Did something happen?"

"No."

"You're lying."

"No I'm not."

Steve chuckled. "You're impossible." He grew quiet then. "It's funny. You didn't keep your promise."

"What promise?" I looked at him quizzically.

"You promised not to scare me."

I raised an eye brow. Then it came to me.

"_Don't…scare me."  
"Me scare you? Impossible."  
"I mean don't risk your life. Don't go into crazy evil god's cells, don't jump off a boat if you know you can't swim. Please, I don't want to wait every day, hoping that you will wake up and not be in a coma. You can't die on me. I care for you too much…"_

I scratched my head awkwardly. "Yeah, I remember that day."

"I'm sorry for bringing it up," Steve said.

"No! Don't be sorry. It's just that… wow, that feels like so long ago."

"I know." Steve murmured. "Do you… do you still feel the same? I mean, about…us?"

I smiled. "Not a day goes by without me thinking that question." I looked down and covered my face with my hands. "Steve, I have no idea how I feel."

Steve put a hand on my shoulder. "It's okay if you don't."

"No! It's not that! I just…" I placed my hand on his. "I have a lot to think about. With this thing with Loki, and just coming back-"

Steve leaned forward and pressed his lips on mine. It was like that day all over again. He lifted me onto his lap and kissed harder. I pressed back, leaning into him.

"Déjà vu, huh?"

I pulled back. "I'm sorry. I don't know what happened."

"I know, I don't know what happened, either. But you know what?"He wiped a hair from my face and placed his hands on my back. "It's okay."

His hand ran up my spine and rested at the nap of my neck. I shivered as he leaned forward and kissed me again.

I don't know what happened next, but I suddenly felt uncomfortable. Something was pulling me back…

"Wait!" I said as I jumped off his lap.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing, it's just that …"

"Oh, I see…."

My eyes widened. "Not like that! Just a little too fast for me." I hugged him. "Slow down."

Steve circled his arms around me. "Understood."

He sat back and we laid vertical to the bed, arm in arm.

"So, are you ever going to tell me about what happened?"

"…maybe someday."

Steve's arms tightened. "I can wait."

"Well, someone seems happy today." Laurence said.

"Oh really?" I asked as I entered the holing block.

"You can't stop smiling like an idiot. What happened?"

I smiled. "I just had a great night last night."

Laurence's smile wavered. "How?"

"I just spent some time with Steve."

"The one that hit me in the face?"

"Yes."

Laurence frowned. "Did you two…?"

I laughed. "No, we didn't."

"Ah."

Silence. Then stomping feet crushed it.

"Child! A word," Fury said, beckoning with his hand..

I walked over. "Yes?"

"We're deciding to let him out of his cage." Fury stated.

"Why?"

"Well, we ran some tests on him, and it seems that he's telling the truth. And Thor told us why he might have lost his memory."

"Well what was it?"

Fury scratched his jaw. "Well, your memories have most likely switched with Loki's."

I raised an eyebrow.

"You have had memory loss, and that part of your memory got switched with a part of his. The problem is, we don't know which part of his memory is in yours."

I thought about it. _Makes sense…_

"You might as well have said all of this in front of Lok- err, Laurence."

"And why is that?"

"Because he heard all of what you just said." I pointed to my ear and turned around.

"Was I that obvious?" Laurence asked.

"Yes. I heard your thoughts as Fury was talking. Like a back- seat commentator."

"I see…"

Fury motioned to the guards behind him. "Open it up."

The guards opened the cell and brought Laurence to Fury's office. Everyone was there already. Bruce, Tony, Natasha, Hawkeye, Thor, and Steve. I slid next to Steve and he patted my hand. I gave him a corner smile.

"Laurence, is it?"

Laurence looked as white as a ghost. I mean, I knew Fury could be scary to some people, but this was just ridiculous. He looked as if he was about to faint.

"Yes-s sir?"

"We have reason to believe that you are a psychotic menacing god who has lost his memory."

My eye started to burn. _Ow, ow, ow! Not now!_

Amara!

I frowned. _Loki?_

Laurence tilted his head a little. "Oh really?"

"Yes, really. Do you have any memory of this?"

He shook his head. "No sir."

Fury nodded. "You have been given a little more freedom, Mr. Laurence. You are free to roam the living section of the carrier, but nowhere else, under surveillance. If you even try to escape, we will not hesitate to shoot you. Is this clear?"

Laurence nodded. "Yes sir."

I little bit later, Laurence was assigned the living quarter next to Steve's, and across the hallway from mine. I knocked on his door.

"Enter."

The door opened. "Mari! Or, err, Child. Come in."

"Oh, no, I just wanted to see how you were doing…"

Laurence scoffed. "He doesn't seem to like me that well."

"Yeah, there's a reason for that."

"Well, don't tell me. Something tells me I don't want to know."

_Good, didn't feel like explaining it._

I'm never going to get used to your voice in my head.

I laughed. "You're going to have to if you can't control it."

He smiled. "So, are you going to tell me what it means?"

"You're still thinking about it?!"

"Just the sound of it! I have no idea what it means?"

_None?_

Nada.

_Well, keep thinking about it._

Laurence groaned. Why can't you just tell me?

I shrugged.

He looked at the floor and placed his hand on his hips.

I have a question. Do you really want me to have my memories back?

_What do you mean?_

It just seems that the person I was before did some really bad things. To everyone, to you. He looked up, and I looked away.

_Well… I don't know._ I messed with the clothes in my hand.

I don't know what I did to everyone out there. But whatever I did to you seems to of scared you, and I'm sorry.

I frowned. _Thanks…._ I sat his clothes down. "Well, I'll see you later."

"Child…"

I shut the door firmly behind me.

_He's sorry. He said he was sorry…_


	7. Chapter 6

A few days later, Laurence knocked on my door.

"Come in."

"Hello."

I waved with my hand. "Hey, what's up?" I was reading, and I didn't want to didn't want to make eye contact. Too awkward.

"I was wondering if, maybe, you could introduce me to everyone here."

This time, I looked up. "Why?"

"If I'm going to be here, I want to figure out what I did to these people, and how I can help."

"So you want to right your wrongs, so to speak?"

Laurence nodded. _Or at least try to._

I sighed. "I don't think this will go well."

"Please, I just want to try."

"Alright…OW! GOD FRIDGEN, GRRR!"

Laurence rushed over. "Are you okay? What happened?"

I held my eye. God, why was it hurting so much!

"I'm fine, my eye, though…"

"Let me see." Laurence leaned forward. A little too close for comfort.

I leaned back. "No, no, no, it's okay. See? It stopped. I'm fine. Let's go."

I stood up so fast that I fell down again, due to light headedness. "Or, you know, we could just sit here for a second…"

Laurence held out his hand helped me up. "I just want to help, Child. Let me."

I didn't reply. I walked past him and opened the door.

"Coming?"

Everyone froze at the sight of Laurence entering the living area. Laurence shifted his feet a little, and I scratched my head.

"Hey, guys. Um, Laurence wanted to meet you all…so, yeah. Do you mind if I introduce him?"

Silence. Then, "Why?"

That, of course, coming from Tony.

"He just wants to meet you, that's it."

"Why, so he can find out our weaknesses and kill us from the inside out?"

Hawkeye.

Natasha stood up. "I've got to go. Fury just paged me."

"And I have to go work on…something." Tony.

"I'll help you." Banner.

"I need to go." Steve.

Hawkeye said nothing, he just walked out.

Thor stood and shook Laurence's hand. "I am Thor, of Asgard."

Laurence was taken aback by Thor's voice. "Laurence," he managed.

Thor let go of his hand. "It is nice to see you." With that, he walked away.

"Well, at least someone tried."

"Child," Laurence asked. "What I did, to everyone…was it all so bad?"

I made a face. "Well, it wasn't really what you did to _them_. It was more like the whole world, and things like that. But yeah, it was _bad._"

Laurence's eyebrows raised in surprise.

"Long story."

Laurence sighed heavily, walked back to his living quarter, and shut his door.

"Laurence." I ran over and knocked. "Laurence, open up. You okay in there?" I knocked again. No reply. "Laurence, I'm coming in."

I opened the door.

Laurence was on the floor, looking scared out of his mind. He was staring at his bed. No, what was on his bed. Correction, _who_ was on his bed.

"Ah, welcome. You're just in time for the party."

"….Loki?"

The holographic image stood and smiled.

"Oh, I love it when you say my name."

I didn't have time to be angry. "What? …Wait, what?"

"I see you have a loss for words with your king in your presence."

Oh, wait, I found the time. "What are you doing here? What's going on? How are you there," I pointed at Laurence, "and there," I pointed at Loki, "at the same time?"

"Oh so many questions, so little time."

"Well, find the time. I need answers, and so does this guy." I motioned to an overt Laurence, who still sat in the middle of the floor.

I then got serious. "You promised to leave me alone. Was that all a lie?"

Loki hesitated. A wave of emotion glided across his face, but I couldn't figure out what it was.

"I did not mean to come back into your life. At least, not so quickly."

"Then what happened?"

"I was creating a potion when I pushed in the wrong ingredient. It exploded, and I gained unconsciousness. When I awoke, I was not in control of my own self. Then, this monster came into being." He looked at Laurence.

"Wait, how did I come into being?" Laurence asked.

"Out of shock, I see. You are nothing. You are a simple consciousness in my brain, and _my_ conscious has been pushed to the side."

"So if you're in the back of his head, how can we see you in front of us?"

"That was the monster's doing. Thinking too hard and such."

"So why are you here?"

"Because you are the only one that can help me."

"How?"

"You need to somehow push his being out if my brain, and replace it with mine."

I scoffed. "And why would I do that?"

"Out of the kindness of your heart?"

I gave him a look.

"Yes, I suppose not. You need to do this because if you don't, it will take over my brain, and I will become nothing."

"What's wrong with Laurence having your brain?"

"Ah, so the monster has a name now."

"Seriously."

"If the monster takes over my brain, he will have my thoughts and intellect, plus that of his own."

"Wouldn't his thoughts cancel out yours, though?"

"Either that, or my thoughts will become worse, and if that happens, there is no stopping it. All of my thoughts and feelings, increasing a hundred fold. You have to help me."

"A god needing help from a mortal. Well, that's new."

"You can't just let the monster take over!"

"Oh yeah? And why not?" I scowled. "After all that you've done to me, and you think I'm going to help you? Are you out of your mind?"

"Technically speaking, yes, he is," Laurence offered.

I glared at Laurence and walked out.

_What was he thinking? After all the things he did, and he thinks I'm going to help him. Is he thick minded or what?_

_Apparently, I am._

I sighed. _Let me guess, since Laurence was thinking too much, now you can read my thoughts again?_

_Of course._

I closed my door and jumped on my bed.

_Just leave me alone…_


	8. Chapter 7

I explained what happened with Laurence and Loki's consciousness to Fury and the others, and Fury was listening intently.

"Laurence _isn't_ Loki?"

"Laurence is his own consciousness, but _it is_ Loki's body."

Fury sighed. "Why do these things always happen to you, Child?"

I just shrugged.

"So what do you think Child should do?" Steve asked.

"Well, considering what 'Loki' said, you need to try and get him back into his own body. We don't need any more unnecessary violence. We have enough on our plate as it is."

"But I don't know how to, sir."

"Then I suggest you find out." Fury exited the room.

"Well, this is exciting," Tony teased. "Second time Loki's been in Child's brain. He must really like you."

I scowled. "At least one of us is having fun."

"Hey, I'm just saying, you could tell us what he's planning ahead of time-"

"Then maybe you should have him in your mind instead! See how you'd like it!" I snapped.

Tony grew silent.

"I don't want this to happen. Not again. Everyone remembers last time Loki was in my head here. It didn't go well."

Everyone silently agreed.

"I'll work on it." I walked out of the room.

Laurence, who was sitting right outside of the room, stood. "What happened?"

"Let's just say I lied when I said I wasn't going to help you."

"So you're going to help Loki?"

"I have no choice. I'm not going to let anyone get hurt this time." I narrowed my eyebrows. "I can't."

Back in Laurence's room, Laurence, Loki's hologram, and I were thinking about how to carry the conscious thingy out. So far, nothing was working.

"Ow!" Laurence said. "That's not doing anything! It's just giving me a headache!"

"Well, if you stopped moving, then maybe I could focus on something!"

_Both of you, silence!_

We both looked at Loki.

"As if having my life be determined by mortals is enough, neither of you have any idea what you are doing."He placed his hand on his head._I'm surrounded by idiots._

"Well, you have any ideas, genius?" I asked.

Loki was silent.

"Then stop complaining. We're doing the best we can." I liked that I was in control of the situation. For once, Loki had to keep his mouth shut. Or mind shut. Or…whatever.

_No, only one of you are._ Loki glanced at Laurence.

"Laurence, what is he talking about?"

Laurence said nothing.

"Laurence…"

"What will happen to me?" He asked.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, what will happen to my consciousness after Loki gets his mind back? What will become of me?"

"You will become nothing," Loki answered. "You are just an accident. That accident needs to be undone."

"But I'm still living!" Laurence countered. "I live, I eat-."

"No, _I _live,_ I_ eat. _You_ do none of these things. It is _my_ body, intruded by a monster who thinks he is alive."

_This is slowly starting to remind me of Frankenstein. _

They both looked at me.

"Well, think about it. Creator creates monster, monster wants to live, creator wants to get rid of the monster. Frankenstein."

"What does this have to do with-"

"Wait. How does the creator rid himself of the monster?" Loki asked.

I hesitated. "Well…the book something about the farthest shore…" An idea popped into my head. "WAIT!"

They both jumped. "What?"

"I got it! Maybe it's not you two who needs separating, it's me and Loki who need to be separated!"

Loki made a face. "Explain."

"Think about it. If you and I are separated far enough, both of us will get weak, correct?"

"Yes…"

"So what if we separate ourselves so that you and I get weak, Laurence can push himself to the back of Loki's mind, and Loki's consciousness could slip itself forward, with Laurence using his, err, 'strength' to push it." I stood up. "Get it?"

Loki thought about this, pacing the floor. Laurence stared forward intently, thinking as well. I think.

It seems like such a plan could work.Loki finally said. "But it will be a great risk. If we are separated from each other too far, we could be unconscious for days. Or worse."

"Laurence, what do you say?"

Laurence said nothing, still staring ahead.

Loki sighed impatiently."If you can push yourself to the back of my brain, you will still have consciousness, and you will not die." At least, not yet.

Laurence looked up. "Really?"

Loki nodded.

"Great! Then we do it tomorrow." I ran out of Laurence's room and closed the door.

_Whew,_ I thought. _One more minute in there, I wouldn't be able to breathe._

_And what was so wrong about being in that room?_

Were we annoying you?

_Damn it, I forgot you two were still here._ I sighed. _No, I just need to give my mind a break. I'm too tired to think any more._ I opened my living quarter door and closed in firmly shut behind me. _Now good night._

I changed clothes and fell into bed. Thirty seconds later, I was just dozing off, when someone started bothering me. Again.

_Amara._

I shivered. _Loki, what do you want?_

I turned around in my bed to see Loki's hologram standing next to my bed.

_Amara, be careful of the monster. He is deceiving you._

_You know he can hear you, right?_

Loki smiled_. __No, he can't. We all have different brain attachments. Right now, I am only talking to you, and you are only talking to me._

_That's great. Really. But what are you talking about?_

_That creature is plotting against you as we speak. He plans to destroy the other people on this ship by destroying it. We need to hurry and carry on with the plan._

_And you're warning me of this because…._

_Because of our relationship._ Loki said. He ran a finger down my face. _Of course._

I waved his finger away. _There is no relationship._

Loki smiled.

I turned around._ Go away, Loki._

_Fine, fine. But remember, my eternal: you will always belong to me. Denying it is futile. Goodnight…_ He left.

I turned over, eyes wide awake.

_Yep, I'm not getting any sleep tonight._


	9. Chapter 8

"Alright, are you ready?" I asked Laurence.

Laurence nodded, nervous and frightened. Everyone else was on the sides, watching what would happen, and following Laurence, just in case he did something wrong.

I gave a deep breath. _Loki, how far apart to we have to walk?_

_It will not take long. As soon as you get far enough, you will feel it._

Don't you think you should at least give us an estimate-

_No._

"Okay, Laurence, just start to back up," I said.

Laurence started walking backwards, and so did I.

_Okay, so far, so good._

We got to the point to where Laurence was by Fury's office, and I was by the window. I couldn't move anymore.

_Laurence, you have to keep moving farther. _

No, I can't.

_Yes you can._

No, I mean I can't. They're blocking my way into whatever's behind this big door.

_So what now?_

_Switch sides?_

…_.Okay._

"We're switching sides!" I cried out.

I walked to Fury's office, and Laurence walked my way. As we passed each other, though, Laurence didn't look right. He looked bigger, taller, but maybe that was just my imagination.

_No, your thoughts are correct. He did get bigger._

_What? But how?_

_He is growing stronger; his brain is starting to mold itself. Whatever he is thinking, it isn't good._

_Wait, can't you hear his thoughts?_

_Not for the past hour._

I gulped. _Okay, maybe this wasn't a good idea._

_We need to stop this, before he decides to- _Silence.

I stopped. _Loki? Loki!_

Nothing.

"STOP!"

Everyone jolted to a halt.

"Geez, Child," Hawkeye said. "What's gotten into-?"

"Where's Laurence?"

Everyone looked around. He was nowhere to be seen.

The intercom burst into life. "Excuse me, ladies and gentlemen, but I have an announcement concerning all staff and personnel on the carrier."

Laurence.

_Laurence, what are you doing?_

"Ah, yes, Child. Shouldn't you be at the office?"

Fury's office.

"There you are."

"Laurence, stop…"

"Stop? Oh, no! How can I stop when the fun's just begun?" He smiled. That evil smile. Loki's smile.

"What did you do to Loki?"

"Loki, Loki, Loki, that's all you ever talk about. Why can't you see that I am not Loki? Oh, that's right, because he's your lover. Forever and ever."

I ignored the last comment. "Stop playing games. Where is he?"

"Whatever did I do to him? Let me think…" He leaned on Fury's desk, knocking a few papers over and tapped his chin. "Oh yes, I killed him! That's what I did!"

I froze. _You did…what?_

"Ah, speechless, aren't we?" He gave me a pat on the head. I swiped at him, and missed. "It's simple. When you and I were the farthest apart, Loki was at his weakest, and so I overtook his brain and left no trace. Nothing, nada, zero Loki. You're long lost lover finally sent to the ground." His voice turned menacing. "How _tragic_."

"He is not my lover," I groaned.

"Oh? So that means I'd have you all to myself then?" He placed a hand on my shoulder. "What fun."

"No, it means I'll soon be joining him."

"Now, whatever do you mean by that?"

"You should have read Loki's mind when you had the chance. Loki and I were under a spell. If he dies…I go with him." I sat down. I'm going to die soon…well that's just perfect.

"Oh, I get it. You'd rather die than be with me. Oh, how my heart breaks piece by piece."

"Even if I did, which would be likely, I wouldn't have a choice. I die when he dies. It's the way the spell goes."

Laurence squinted. I felt a tingle in my brain and suddenly became light headed. _So he found out how to scan someone's mind. I bet he learned it from me. _I swallowed a smile. _Not the right time to be thinking that._

Laurence staggered back. "No, you're lying. You're trying to trick me!"

I shook my head. "No trick."

Someone started banging on the door. A muffled voice said, "Fury! Child!"

"Steve!"

Laurence threw something at the door. It went straight through the metal. The noise stopped with a loud _BANG!_

"Steve! What did you do to him?"

Laurence shrugged. "Oh, nothing, my dear. Just a little stun to stop the noise."

I ran toward the door.

"Stop."

I stopped. _God damn it._

"Aha, it seems the spell didn't wear off at all, now, did it?"

I groaned. _It still controls my physical actions._

_That's right. So,_ He took my hand and led me to the nearest chair. _You're not going anywhere. Well, other than your living quarters, but we can't let them see you, now, can we? You will not die on me, whether you like it or not._ He waved his hand. "I will see you after the carrier is destroyed."

And suddenly, I was back in my room. I jumped up and headed for the door.

_Ah, ah, ah, sit back down._

I sat on the floor.

_Good._

I sighed and slumped over. _Okay, I'm being controlled by an evil science experiment, I can't cry out for help, the carrier is about to be destroyed, and Loki's dead. This has been an interesting day…_

_I can vouch for your sarcasm, but it's not going to help anyone._

I sat up. "Loki?"

Loki's hologram appeared out of nowhere and covered my mouth. _Shhhhh! No one can hear us. Do you want that monster to know that I'm here?_

I was on the verge of crying. Yes, you heard that right. Crying.

_Oh, god Loki, I thought you were dead. I mean, Laurence said that he left no trace of you in his brain and that you were nothing and I thought-_

Be quiet. 

I stopped. Loki didn't care what I thought, but I felt a sort of gladness coming from him.

_Do you know how to get out of here?_

Loki nodded. _Through those._He pointed to the vents._They're big enough so that you can get through to the outside, and be able to escape from the rear._

_But what about the carrier?_

_I am not responsible for anyone else's life but yours._

_You're not responsible for mine either, you know._

The hologram 'grabbed' my arms. _Realize what you are saying! If you die, I die. I am responsible for your life, as you are of mine. If you don't get out of this, then neither am I._

_I'm saving the carrier first._

_You didn't hear what I said-_

_Yes, I did. And that's why I'm not dying today._ I looked him straight in the eye. _I'll make sure of it._

He let me go, and I pulled off the vent screen.

_By the way, if you're not in Laurence's mind, how can I still hear you, or see you, or…you know what I mean…_

When the monster pushed me out of his mind, my consciousness went to the next available body that would accept me. Loki smiled. You can hear me because I am now in your mind, Amara.


	10. Chapter 9

As I'm crawling on my hands and knees through the vents, I kept thinking about what I would do, how I would stop Laurence. Nothing came to mind.

_You have no idea what you are doing._

_Shut up, you're not helping._

_Neither is your disrespect toward-_

_Say 'king' and I'll be the one trying to kill you._

Loki growled, but said nothing. Something rocked the vent.

_Loki…was that you?_

_Are you really that ignorant so as to ask that question?_

The vent rocked even more.

_What the hell's happening? _

_Stop thinking, keep moving!_

I crawled faster, which felt a little silly. And to make it worse, I fell through the vent bottom. And if you don't think that's bad, try falling into the enemy's office. Right in front of him.

"Ah, Child. Glad to see you again. I knew you would come crawling back to me."

_Oh GOD._

"Oh come now, don't be so cruel."

I stood up, then cried out. _Crap, I fell on my leg wrong._

"Oh, Child, what have you done to yourself?" Laurence bent down. "You're hurt. You poor," He rested his hand on the side of my face. "Poor child, defenseless. Oh, but don't worry." He stood and pressed a button. "I'll take care of you."

The carrier shifted to the right violently and all the lights started to flash red. I slid to the wall. As that happened, windows broke, people were screaming, and I heard a roar.

_And there goes my arm._

Amara-

Laurence turned around. "Who was that?"

I held my arm. _Crap again._

"Who was that? Answer me!"

_Ah, so the monster can still hear his master. How quaint._

Laurence froze. …Loki?

_Master, primitive being._

Laurence stared in disbelief. You were supposed to be dead.

_And you were never supposed to be alive. _

Laurence smirked. And what are you going to do now, 'Master'? Try and stop me?

No, she is.

Laurence looked dead into my eyes. I bit my lip. "Yeah, what he said."

"And what are you going to do? Since 'Master' is now in your brain, you must not be getting any peace."

I lifted my good leg and kicked him in the knee. He let me go and fell backwards.

I stood on one leg and tested the other one. _Good, it's not broken._

"But it's about to be!" Laurence dove and knocked me over. I hit my back on the wall- okay, it was the floor now. I tried picking myself up, and ended up pressing another button. The carrier jerked the other way, and I ended up landing on Laurence. Or, what used to be Laurence. Laurence's body had grown, his brain looking as if it would bulge out of his head. His blue eye had grown to the size of a baseball, and his hands were abnormally large.

_Now you can see why he is a monster. _

I sprang up and held on to the desk. Luckily, it was bolted to the floor in the same spot.

"Wait, Child! Please, don't leave me!"

I turned around. His hand reached up, then fell to the floor. "Don't leave me."

_It's own body is collapsing under its own weight. It can't move. _

"Child, Amara, please! Don't go with Loki! I-I'll do anything for you! Please, don't go!"

"_Child!"_

I looked around. "Steve?"

"_Child! Where are you!"_

"In here!" I cried out. _"Help!"_

"No, wait! Stop!" Laurence said. His body lost all its skin, and now it was all muscle. His hand reached up and grabbed my ankle. Tightly.

Now, everyone knows that I'm not a screamer, but seeing just muscle and teeth and arms bulging out of a shirt with no lips or eye sockets _and_ fangs?

I screamed at the top of my lungs. The doors fell open, yes, _fell_ open, and Steve came in, climbing over the door sill.

"Child! What-_What the hell is that?"_

"_Get him __**off**__ me!"_ I kicked at Laurence's hand.

"No!" His voice had warped. I could hardly understand him. Steve pulled himself into the room and gave one firm punch at Laurence's hand. The creature screamed and fell back.

Steve grabbed me by the waist and jumped out the office window to the floor below. Everything was a disaster, papers everywhere, computer screens all over the floor.

"Child, are you okay?"

"I'm fine, I'm fine, but we need to get out of here. Now."

We waddled toward the next door and started running, myself half-limping.

"You mind telling me what was that thing in there?" Steve asked.

"Would you believe me if I told you that thing was Laurence?"

Steve stopped. "You're kidding right?"

**CRACCCKKK!** The floor above us was about to give. "I don't think we have time to kid right now. Run!"

We sped up, just as the wall fell. And what was on the other side of the wall?

You probably guessed right. Laurence looked a lot worse. He was all red-ish green, and I guessed the shirt ripped, explaining the remaining cloth. He was crying out.

"_Child, no! Bring her back!"_ The creature ran toward us, and Steve pushed me to the side while getting thrown to the roof.

"Steve!"

Steve fell right back down, landing on his back.

He groaned.

"Oh god, are you okay?"

"Back away from him!" Laurence's monster hand swung, and I ended up getting thrown to the side and hitting my head. Laurence towered over me, and gave me a fangly smile. I looked up in horror. He was as big as the other guy Banner always talks about.

Speaking of the Hulk…

"**RRRRRRRAAAAAAHHHHHHH!"**


	11. Chapter 10

I looked to my right to see the Hulk burst through the wall.

"Banner!"

Oops. I forgot that it wasn't really Banner. The 'other guy' didn't seem to notice, because he didn't flinch. He ran forward, a raging yell bellowing out of his throat, and hit Laurence solidly in the mid section. Laurence jerked and flew backward, sliding on his back before hitting his head on the doors. I felt the wall and tried to stand. I had never seen the Hulk before, and I didn't want to be the target for his rage, from what I had heard. Laurence stood up, and gave out a roar that sounded like a dinosaur mixed with a dragon of some sort. It was horrible.

The Hulk returned the roar, then ran toward creature-Laurence. Laurence ran toward him, and they clashed, intertwining themselves with each other. They had equal strength.

_Not for long…_

_What?_

_The creature is still growing, its strength is still increasing. _

_Then-_

**CRASH!**

The creature had hit the Hulk, so hard that he fell into the next room.

"Child…"

I looked over. "Steve!" He had fallen on a desk, and a chair or two had fell on him. I helped him up and pulled his arm over my shoulders.

"Let me go, I'm fine."

I did, and he stood, legs wobbling a little, but stabilizing.

"Come on, we have to move."

"But Banner…"

"He'll be fine, now come on!"

As he said this, I looked back to see the Hulk jumping out of the room and tackling Laurence, sending them both through the floor.

I backed up, then ran. Steve had turned through the broken window. Unfortunately, that was where the Hulk and Laurence had crashed. The Hulk had hit Laurence in the back, then threw him through the wall, which was the outer layer of the ship. The air pressure immediately released, sending us all out the hole in the wall. The Hulk tried to hold on to something, but Laurence hit him in the face, sending them both out of the carrier. I flew off my footing, spiraling outward to meet them.

"I gotcha!"

I came to an abrupt stop and looked up. Steve had me by the hand, himself holding onto the leg of a desk. Were all the desks bolted in?

Steve talked into his receiver. "Fury! Are you there?"

"Go, Rogers. Do you have Child and Laurence with you?"

Steve coughed. "I have Child, but Laurence…"

"What about him?"

"He's…something else, sir."

"What do you mean, something else? Rogers, explain yourself!"

"He can't!" I yelled upward. "We seriously have no idea _what_ he is!"

"Is that Child?"

"Yes, sir!"

"Well, what did it look like?"

I stiffly shook my head. "You just got to see him, sir." Steve grunted, and I looked to see him struggling to hold on.

"Fury!" He said. "Can you send transport over to the west side of the carrier?"

Suddenly we were sent upward, flat against the ceiling.

"What's going on?!"

Fury screamed into the receiver. "The heli-carrier's losing altitude at a fast rate!"

"_You mean we're falling!?"_

"_Do I really have to dumb it up for you!?"_

I tried moving my arm, and it ended up slapping back on the wood. I panicked.

_Stop screaming._

"I'm not screaming!" I screamed.

"What?!" Steve yelled.

_Yes, you are, now stop. You're giving me a headache. _

"Well, wouldn't you be screaming if you were plummeting to your death?! And how could you get a headache_, it's not even your head!"_

Steve looked at me as if I were crazy.

_Stop. You're not dying. _

"Wha-?"

_Quiet! Now listen, try to curl into yourself. Get as small as you can. I can try to form a shield around you, and the impact in the water will not be felt._

"But what about-?"

_Forget about the mortal! He does not matter! Let him die!_

"I am not letting Steve die." I said angrily.

"What?!" Steve said. "Who said anything about-"

"Rogers! You have a minute and a half before left before sea impact! Get out of there!" Fury warned.

"I can't!" Steve said. "The air's pushing us back! We can't move!"

_Do it, Amara! _

"Not without Steve!"

_Then you will both die!_

"I die, and you're going with me."

Steve looked confused, and I sensed a hesitation from Loki.

"Make your choice."

"Rogers! Thirty seconds!"

Loki gave. _Fine! I will regret this._

"Steve! Try curling yourself into a ball!"

"Why?!"

"Just do it!"

He pulled his legs up to his chest, as did I. Crap, it hurt.

"Ten seconds!"

Steve looked up. "Child, if I go, I just want you to know-"

"You're not dying. I promise." I squeezed his hand that I now realized that I'd never let go of.

_5._

_4._

_3._

_2._

_1._

_Impact._

The ship hit the water hard, sending Steve and I forward. Steve pulled me closer, and I tucked my head.

_LOKI! _

**Splash!**

The water engulfed our bodies, I didn't even have time to take a final breath. Water came in my nose, and I held tighter to Steve.

_Loki, what are you doing? Where's the shield…_

Loki answered, but I couldn't understand what he said. I struggled, and Steve tried to swim upward towards the surface. The ship just kept on sinking. He tried dodging a chair, then looked up, only to be hit in the head. A stream of blood fell from his head. I screamed, only to take in a lung full of water. A green light suddenly surrounded us, all the water was on the outside. Loki's shield finally came up. Steve coughed out a bit of water, and heaved a lung full of air.

We were alive.


	12. Chapter 11

But there was still a problem.

I couldn't breathe.

I choked on the water that was still inside me, trying my hardest to find air. It didn't work. The water in my lungs made me feel like an elephant was lying on my chest. Or something close to it. I gasped repeatedly.

Amara, Amara breathe.

_I'm trying, but I can't!_ I gasped, and my chest started burning.

"Child!" Steve said in alarm.

I motioned to my neck and chest, but all that came out was sorry sobs and gasps. Steve tried pumping my chest, and I started to fade out.

"I…I…can't," Gasp. "I can't…"

"No, Child, no! You're not dying on me! Come on!" He pumped my chest harder. The elephant got heavier.

"St…op," I choked out.

Steve didn't stop. "Come on!"

As my vision faded, I half smiled. "I…told…you…you…wouldn't…die…"

"No, child, _No!"_

I closed my eyes, and I automatically knew I was dead. I felt Steve frantically try to pump the water out of my now non-breathing chest. I even felt his lips as he tried mouth-to-mouth. But I knew I wasn't coming back.

I knew it.

Amara! You are not dying. Open your eyes. Loki sounded strained, borderline of calm and complete insanity.

_I can't do anything about it._

No! The shield, the- the impact from the water, it- it threw me off and…

_Loki, I just want you to know…_

You're not dying, Amara! Damn the gods, live! You're not going to die!

_I want you to know that I don't hate you, and I'm sorry…I'm sorry that you're going to die, too. I know I shouldn't feel like this, but I do. You...I'm so sorry._

Amara, Amara no,…._AAAMMMAAARRRAAA!_

Do you know the scientific theory that you can still see and feel things seven minutes after you die, and while those seven minutes are in progress, you re-live your life? Well I re-lived all of my life, and it seriously didn't need 7 minutes. It consisted of re-living the first time Steve found me in the storage compartment. And then, the day I woke up, and saw him by my bedside.

"_She looks like a child in your massive hands…"_

When Steve stayed against me all night, warmth and safety. No one else in the world.

And then my brain switched, to Loki, and when I first saw his face.

"_Allow me to push you over so you can find out…"_

All the rants and god like speeches I went through, all the mood swings.

That final scene, in the cell, before the spell had taken over. What he thought of me.

_Because…you were not afraid of me. On that first day, I felt your hand as it touched my head through the glass. I then searched your mind, and I saw that you knew exactly what I was feeling, without me even saying it…And even while I was casting the spell, you knew I was inside your brain. It takes a strong mind to feel another one inside of it…___

And those months of 'training', being Loki's toy, not being able to do anything about it. Weak. Helpless. I hated him, and he knew it.

_"KNEEL BEFORE YOUR KING! There. Much better. It would be so much easier if you just did what I asked willingly. Then we would not be having these problems…_

And then, he set me free. No word, no nothing. Just waking up in an apartment. Then, getting the job, making friends with…

Oh, Frieda. Poor, poor Frieda. How would she react? I only knew her for a while, put her through so much…

And now this.

"Child, you can't leave. Not again…"

Amara! Wake up! AMARA!

Their voices were starting to fade, I was going. I sighed and accepted my fate.

_Frieda, good luck, my friend…_

_Loki, I'm sorry you're going to die…_

_Steve…_

I felt a tear run down my face, small and warm. Steve was crying, Loki sent pangs of sorrow. I did all of this. I caused this…

_I'm sorry…I'm so, so sorry…_

And then…nothing.


	13. (Sequel turned Trilogy)

**A/N: This series is actually a trilogy! The third installment, Loki's Ghost, is uploaded. Enjoy!**


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